Refrigeration apparatus with crating means



May l, 1951 F. D. PELTIER ET AL 2,551,284

REFRIGERATION APPARATUSWITH CRATING MEANS Filed March 4, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet l May 1, 1951 F. D. PELTIER ET Al. 2,551,284

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS WITH CRATING MEANS Filed March 4, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 /f/G. Z.

INVENTORS FHA/VA PIL/7M MArm/v C. rfi/w @hawaii/fw May 1, 1951 F. D. PEL-HER ET A1. 2,551,284

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS WITH CRATING MEANS File March 4, 1948 4 sheets-sheet s M EN V76.

w ''i'iiimns AGE/Vfl May l, 1951 F. D. PELTIER ET AL 2,551,284

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS WITH CRATING MEANS Filed March 4, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 MM2 l patented May l,- QS

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFICE ,REFRIGrER/AT ION` APPARATUS WITH CRATING MEANS Frank D. Peltier, Jenkintown, and Matson C.

Terry, RydaLvPa., assignors Ato Philco Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Icnn' Sylvania Application March 4, 1948, Serial.No..1 3,'037

(Cl. H6)

2 Claims. l The present invention relates to refrigeration apparatus, and to a method of shipping and handling such apparatus.

More particularly, the invention has to do with a novel method of and apparatus for handling..

accomplished by uncouplingcertain of the refrigerant flow conduits which connect thecompressor, condenser and evaporatorin series ow circuit. Then too, in many instances removal of the refrigerating system required virtually complete dismantling of the cabinet.

In general, with apparatus and proceduresrof the kind heretofore available, it has frequently proven that removal of an air conditioning system from the cabinet, for repair purposes, was practicable only at the factory, or at somelwell equipped service depot.

Broadly, it is an object of this inventionV to overcome the aforesaid difficulties and disadvantages, by the provision of a novel method of and apparatus for handling and shipping sealed refrigerating systemsincluding a compressor, condenser and evaporator arranged in series flow circuit-Without the necessity of breaking the tubing connections between such. elements, or of removing from the customers home such portions of the apparatus as do not require replacement or repair. In accordance with the invention, a refrigerating system may be removed from the cabinet, in its entirety, without movement of, or disturbance to, other major elements of the air conditioner unit.

It is also an important object of the present invention to prov-ide novel apparatus for supporting the scaled rcirigerating system during handling thereof, which apparatusis of such a nature as to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the system with the cabinet, vand associated blowers and the like included in said cabinet, as well as serving to support the system during shipping.

To the foregoing general ends, the invention contemplates the provision of a lmethod of ship- Ping andv handling such. .systemaand the provision of Yaseparableframe or skeleton used during the s hhippingnand .handling operations and. for

example, A adapted to'gbe superimposed acrossthe top of'aniairconditioning unit, after the cover .hes been renieed' tnerefrein; .and including means through theagency'of which theksy'stem may.be-re1eesabIy.@dr1edwith tnefseid framed removal `from-the'casing or housing'. Following thelsaid freine -.-en.d, ret. ned feineeetofy .0f repair ,dem .without .die .eine :the refrieerent may resumed ito-.thepeint `nf nsei...w1 i.i1e Suidpetted .by e .Skeletal naine@ the .above-mennenedr tyre .11.P9n-errivel-...nneye lewered interne eeeinenneture-uiththeeyepereer' and condense .eelenrpperl ntedfwtnredneettb tent of. whieh. Meine. fe11ewine= A-.Tne-.nnnrbenef.eeinnenentse bennpeeted and .reeenditienedet the aetery .is reduced td e. minimum.

expensive crate land Lin V lowered transportation Charges vC- .Extremely -reeid @Sieraden 0f en .eendif tioning service is possible, on the customers,

Premises, .wtnent-.tne-.neeesity. ef replacing .the entire-.apperetilsindistributors?end deelers.-werenenses is reduced to a minimum.

E- The risk ef. damage Paine deeerniiveeeeing of the .refrieereter @een .eendiening unit is eliminetedinee..tneyetem. .is removed. wnleih'e decorative; eeinevas Wellnes' thefen meterend aseeeiated-nlqwersfrnevneleft.en heeustefners 4premises. I

P. '.lheoverau app.z .ratus is considerably more attractive, fr m th sa' point ci view, einheit lende'iteelfrereeelerly ell. te. derenedneivnen Dichases. LCjonrgaanlif-es financing such purchases I desirethae. elhenaitlte-s'eiieed'@the customers the deferredPeymenteteement .'.I'he mannerlinnnienine.diegene dndietner L 3 objects and advantages of our invention are realized, will be understood from the following description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this disclosure, and in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of air conditioning apparatus adapted for use with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view, in greater detail and on an enlarged scale, illustratingthose portionsv of the apparatus which can all be simultaneously removed without uncoupling any of the interconnecting tubing; Y

Figure 3 is an exploded, perspective illustration showing a shipping crate which may advantageously be employed in practice of the present invention, as well as two skeletal -frames employed. in a normal service operation; Y

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view illustratingthe system supported by one of the aforesaid frames and indicating the manner in which said system may be introduced into or withdrawn from an air conditioner casing; and,

Figure 5 is a sectional view illustrating the manner in which the skeletal frame may be readilyfsecured to the refrigerating system.

jNow making more detailed reference to VFigure assipsli the room or space to be conditioned. The condensing unit is cooled by outside air flowing into the chamber 23 through inlet openings 29 and 30, from whence it is directed through the condenser i2 by the blower 26, and finally delivered to the outside atmosphere through a port represented at 3 I.

Insofar as the present invention is concerned, further and more detailed description of the construction and operation of the air controlling means is not necessary herein. However, if desired, reference may be had to the copending application of Edward L. Hart, bearing Serial No. 115,383, and led March 17, 1948, now Patent No. 2,495,002, issued January 17, 1950, wherein are fully disclosed and claimed certain features of the apparatus illustrated in Figure l.

As will now be described, the compressor, condenser and evaporator which comprise the re- 1 which, by Way of example, illustrates air condi- A tioning apparatus with which the invention-is particularly useful, it vwill be seen that the apparatus comprises a casing, deignated generally by the reference numeral I0, which casing encloses a refrigerating system comprising a motor-compressor II, a condenser I2. an evaporator I3, and associated conduits through the agency of which said compressor, condenser and evaporator are coupled in series flow circuit. These conduits include a discharge line I4, through which compressed refrigerant is delivered to the condenser I2, a feed line I5 which, as shown, comprises a continuously open restricted connection, through which the liquefied refrigerant is Afed to the evaporator for expansion therein. As'illustrated, a vstrainer I6 may be included in the feedA line, and a suction conduit Il-a portion of which is provided with suitable thermal insulation-serves to return the volatilized refrigerant to the compressor II. Disposed in generally axial parallelism with the above-described sealed system is air moving apparatus including a motor I8, and a pair of blowers I9 and 20 which, respectively, are adapted to cause circulation of air across the said evaporator I3 and the condenser I2.

' As indicated at 2|, the cabinet is provided with a partition serving to divide the same into an evaporator chamber 22 and a condensing chamber 23. That portion of the cabinet which comprises the evaporator chamber (the portion lying to the left of dashed line 24 in Figure l) is adapted to extend into a room or zone to be conditioned, while the portion of the cabinet lying to the right of said dashed line 24 extends outwardly of said room, preferably through a window opening thereof.

The evaporator chamber 22 is, in turn, subdivided by means of a partition 25,-into a section housing the blower I9 and a portion within which is disposed the evaporator I3. Suitable air ingress and egress openings indicated at 26 and 2l, respectively, provide for circulation of room air in to the casing I0, through a filter 28, thence into the blower I9. which is preferably of the centrifugal type, from whence it is forced through evaporator I3 and subsequently redelivered to 7539 in Figure 2. The described system may be frigeration system are so relatively disposed, and oriented with respect to the air flow-controlling means, that saidv system may be vdisassociated from the housing I0 without interfering with either the said flow-controlling means, or requiring the disconnection of any refrigerant flow conduits, or necessitating dismantling of the cabinet.

To these general ends, and to realize theobjects and advantages enumerated above, the 'invention .provides Yfor ready and convenient -removal of said system from the cabinet or housing, as a unitary assembly, and for introduction of a replacement u nit or system, in which connection ,reference will now be had to Figures 2 to 4, inclusive. This aspect of the presentinvention is `described and claimed in ourcopending disclosure bearing Serial No. 74,362, filed February 3, 1949, now Patent No. 2,496,355, issued February 7, 1950, -and being a division of the instant invention.

As clearly appears in Figures 2 and 4, the partition 2I, and a corresponding partition 2Ia which serves to subdivide that portion of the cabinet which houses the condensing unit, are both provided with notches shown, respectively, at 32 and 33, which notches immediately underlie the top wall or cover of the cabinet (not illustrated) and through which pass the refrigerant flow conduits when the system is introduced within the cabinet.A Thus, of the cabinet elernents, only the top wall or cover need be removed. Further, a supporting channel 34 is dis- .posed within the evaporator chamber and a similar channel 35 within the condenser chamber, said channels being so dimensioned and disposed as to provide support for the evaporator I3 and the condenser I2,v respectively. Cooperable with the channel 34, and effective to support forwardflanging 36 of evaporator I3, is a vertically extending flange 31. As is apparent from consideration of Figures 2 and 4, the evaporator is firmly but removably supported within the housing In with its rear face engaged within the channel 34 and one of its forward edges supported by .the vertically extending flange 3l. The condenser is supported within the condenser chamber in a similar manner and, accordingly, such support need not be described in detail.

As appears to best advantage in Figure 2, the compressor II is providedl with laterally extending feet 38, which feet are resiliently supported upon the floor of the cabinet through the agency of resilient springs or washers, which appear at withdrawn from the cabinet 4'as 'a -finit, and, as best illustrated in Figure 4, without disturbing the refrigerant flow conduits or necessitatingremoval of the blowers or the blower motor.

To facilitate such removal, as well as subsequent handling of the system, the inventinprovides the aforementioned skeletal frame which is designated,- generally, at 40. This frame and the manner in which it is adapted to support the system -is described invwhat follows, and it should be borne in mind that two such frames may advantageously be employed during practice of this invention, as will be fully set -forth The skeleton or frame "40 "coi'npris'es'` rigid angle sections 4l disposed peripherally of the frame area, and three cross channels 42, 43 and 44, each of which spans the width of the frame and is suitably secured to the peripheral framing elements 4|. The channel members 42 and 44 are so disposed and relatively arranged as to overlie the evaporator and the condenser, respectively, when the frame is placed upon the open top of the Cabinet I0. Each of said channels 42 and 44 is provided with a pair of apertures, one of which is best illustrated at 45, in Figure 5, through which apertures extend fastening assemblies 46, said assemblies being slidable within apertures 45 and each carrying'a laterally projecting support member 41 disposed for engagement beneath a horizontally disposed flange 48 extending from the coil to be supported. The center channel 43 is also apertured to accommodate mounting elements 49, which latter are employed in support of the compressor H.

As will now be understood, the system to be removed is coupled to the channels 42, 43 and 44 through the agency of the elements 46 and 49, after which the system may be readily removed from the cabinet. During such removal the refrigerant ow conduits are withdrawn from the notches 32 and 33 formed, respectively, in the upper edges of partitions 2l and 21a.

To provide a full understanding of the present invention, an advantageous shipping and handling procedure is now described. It is to be understood, of course, that the construction and relative association of the supporting skeleton 40, and of the components of the system to be supported thereby, are such as to accommodate a variety of service and handling operations which may be encountered in practice. However, the following example well illustrates the advantages of our invention.

In manufacture, the units or systems to be shipped are built up on a temporary shop base which holds the compressor, condenser and evaporator in the relative positions illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. When the assembly has been completed, and charged, and is ready for shipment, one of the skeletal frames 4U is attached to the system in the manner fully described above, and the resultant unitary assembly is then lowered within a crate of the type illustrated at 50, in Figure 3. For purposes of illustration, the forward side 5I of the shipping crate is shown as removed from said crate, and it will been seen that the crate is provided with support structures 52 and 53 adapted, respectively, to support the evaporator I3 and the condenser I2, when the system is packed for shipment. Intermediate said support structures 52 and 53 the crate carries a block 54 having upwardly extending fastening elements 55 adapted to be received within the laterally extending feet 38 of .c2-reiger? -tarily connecting the components of the system;

a'ndof maintaining the system withinA the crate in spaced relation with the walls of said crat.- 'iAs will be evident, the -unit is now supported forshipment. However, prior to such shipment,

an additional frame (shown at 40a, in Figure 3) is preferably insertedwithin the crate, being' carriedby1the upper surface of frame 40 and securely positioned by the overlying cover '51. After fastening of the crate cover 51, the unit or system is shipped, for example, to the home of a customer whose apparatus is in need of service.

Upon arrival, the service operation is very rapidly and simply accomplished by removing the frame 40a from the crate, coupling said frame to the unit to be serviced, after which the said unit is withdrawn from the cabinet. The replacement unit is then inserted in said cabinet, with the condenser and evaporator supported in the manner set forth above, and the apparatus is again ready for operation. As will be evident, the unit to be repaired is then placed within the shipping crate 59 and the frame 40-which provided support for the replacement unit-is placed within the crate upon the upper surface of frame 40a which now supports the unit to be repaired.

From the foregoing description it will now be understood that the novel method of and apparatus for shipping and handling refrigerating systems results in substantial simplification of service procedures, a very considerable reduction in both servicing and inventory expenses and, additionally, greatly increases the number of service operations which may be carried out on the customers premises, without opening any refrigerant now conduits. This latter feature is particularly advantageous where hermetically sealed systems are concerned, since such systems are not ordinarly provided with service shutoff valves.

We claim:

l. In combination, a crate; a unitary assembly removably supported within said crate; said unitary assembly comprising: a refrigerating system including compressor, condenser and evaporator elements disposed in spaced side-by-side relation, a single unitary support member having portions extending across each of said elements and spanning the distance therebetween, and means releasably securing said elements to said portions to form the aforesaid unitary assembly, said member being of a size to be received snugly within said crate and substantially to span the distance between at least two oppositely disposed walls of said crate; and shelf means extending outwardly from said oppositely disposed walls into contact with oppcsitoly disposed portions of said member and supporting said member within` said crate.

2. In combination, a crate; a unitary assembly removably supported within said crate; said unitary assembly comprising: a refrigerating system including compressor, condenser and evaporator elements disposed in spaced side-by-side relation, a single unitary support member having portions 'when introduced mthi'n tile crate, thersystem is supported by the elements' Thus the frame extending across each of said elements and span ning the distance therebetween, and means releasably securing said elements to said portions to form the aforesaid unitary assembly, said member being of a. size to be received snugly within said crate and substantially to span the distance between at least two oppositely disposed walls of said crate; shelf means extending outwardly from said oppositely disposed walls into contact with oppositely disposed portions of said member and supporting said member within said crate; and means carried by a lower portion of the crate, said last means extending into contact with and supporting the lower surfaces of each of said elements.

FRANK D. PELTIER.

MATSON C. TERRY.

REFERENCES CITED Number Number 15 535,363

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name .A 1 Date. Heitman Feb. 20, 1934 Ashbaugh Mar. 4, 1937 Kucher Apr. 11, 1939 Weiller Oct. 13, 1939 Moore Apr. 13, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Apr. 7, 1941 

